Final Project

I'm excited about completing my final project because I am doing something I probably wouldn't have done on my own. I'm creating a cookbook of recipes for my sister, who will be moving out of state. All of the recipes I am using are meals I have made for holidays or special occasions. I want to ulitize the design elements I have learned this semester in putting together an aesthetically pleasing design. So far I have all the recipes and tools compiled, I just need to concentrate on the layout and finishing touches.

Chapter 9

I really liked this chapter in the PL about science being a voice of authority and I think Chris' presentation helped to reiterate that we shouldn't always trust science, but that we have to be smart visual interpreters and decide if the information we are presented is accurate. I would agree that medical information is still guarded but I think we will see a change in this in the near future. More information is available to the public as far as conducting research or diagnosing symptoms, wheras before this information was reserved for medical journals or reference books in the library. I think people are beginning to realize that we have to make informed decisions about our health, that medical information shouldn't be privleged, and we have a right to choose what medications we want to ingest.

Document Design

It is difficult to define document design because there are so many different medias in which document design occurs. Basically the goals of document design are to know the intended audience and to create a usable design that gives the reader the information they need. The document should always be socially responsible which means the designer needs needs to know about the ethics of the company they are writing for as well as how their document will be perceived by different audiences.

Branding

In the article, "Keeping Promises," Holland says that brands developed with the turn of the century and industrialization. Mass production brought about competition in marketing goods and this is when the drive for brand recognition began.

The three links to the different products incite different responses to each but they all have one thing in common, the desire to identify with a brand and belong to the marketed culture. Hummer offers us power and adventure while the Agent Provocateur site is selling swimwear and lingerie that makes the buyer want to look as sexy as the models displaying the items. The third link, Microsoft is selling the newer desire to possess technological knowledge and be a "geek."

Holland encourages us to be smart consumers and to research the companies so that we know what our money is supporting when we buy products. Holland also talks about the power that consumers have and that we should exercise that power so that corrupt corporations do not get away with deceiving consumers. There is an appropriate phrase that refers to this, it is that on average a satisfied customer will share a their experience with one other person, but a dissatisfied customer will share that experience with ten other people.